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Yesterday's fast was fairly successful. I'm not sure I should fast all day, given my activity level. By evening, before dinner, I was draggin' a**.

Broke the fast with a nice plump burger patty, kosher dills and some stone-ground mustard. With a Big-A** salad made from greens from the garden (sorry, store-bought tomatoes still). And a glass of coconut milk. And some dark choc before bed.

Changed my sig today with the coolest post I've seen yet, from the "conversations about fat with non-PB-ers" thread. Good post, Steve!
--
"If people were as cavalier in giving financial advice as they are nutrition advice they would likely get a Primal Knuckle Sandwich."

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I feel so much better today. Lots of good food, and I'm looking forward to some mussels and whatever else I can come up with to go with them for dinner.

I have sprints scheduled for this evening's workout. I'll throw the pipe to the end of the field, pick it up and run like I've stolen another tribe's treasure, then back again. Unfortunately I only have myself and the dogs (who don't understand!) to play with tonight. I could make it so much more interesting with a workout partner.

One of these Saturday morning karate classes, we'll be going to a friend's house to practice. This property has a vineyard on it, nice orderly rows of vines and manicured turf between. I'm supposed to lead the class, so I think I'll have a "sprint and fight" session. Here's my theory:

Divide the group in two, one bunch at each end of the vineyard (it's about 70 yards long). One group has some heavy but carryable object (sandbag, pipe, bucket). One person from the group without the object runs to the other end, engages in a supervised sparring match (2 minutes only), then picks up the heavy object and runs back to his original group. 10 seconds after he leaves, one person from the other group chases him down. Person 2 engages in a sparring match (with someone else), then grabs the object and runs back to his own group...and it continues.

Depending on the condition of the turf and participants, we might substitute some groundwork instead of typical free sparring.

I'll bet we can burn an hour and several thousand calories AND mix Primal with karate!

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I made a solar oven today, following these instructions. It looks OK, could use some refining, but I hope to test it this week (once the sun comes out) to see what temperatures I can generate. If I can get it up to 250 degrees F, I'll slow-cook some ribs next Friday. Supposed to be in the mid-to-high 90s by then, so it should be fun to try.

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You know, I Iook at my "reflectors" and I see REALLY bad workmanship. They're better than nothing but are not going to be all that efficient. Windshield reflectors are a much better idea. I'll look around to see if I can find anything usable.

I'll bet there are some premade solar oven reflectors out on the market, too.

We're expecting to top out at 100 degrees this Saturday (99 Sunday, what a cool-down). I'd better get busy!

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Been almost a week. I made the ribs in my solar oven yesterday. Although I felt compelled to finish cooking them in the crockpot, I managed to keep it at 225 degrees for 4-1/2 hours. The ribs were delicious! I used a recipe that included chipotle chiles, wine, coffee...excellent. It went well with the slaad with greens from the garden.

Chard is doing great, kale is happy, and spinach is struggling. Tomato plants are growing fast and there are a couple blossoms, and the snow peas are trying to take over their section of the bed, completely. It's a joy to go play in the garden - but I hope the next week isn't too hard on the plants. We're expected to top 105 degrees EVERY DAY. Ack.

On the fitness front, I have found that throwing the big pipe around the back yard has helped my military press. I'm suddenly doing 2 sets at 10 lbs higher than previously, and doing the 3rd set at my old weight. That's gratifying, because I've never been particularly strong at the military press.

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I am getting ready for the twice-a-year karate painfest called Special Training. It's a series of practices held winter and summer, over a weekend. Well, summer training is Thursday - Sunday whereas winter training is Friday -Sunday. It begins on June 22...

Anyway, this summer we'll do 12 to 14 (depending on who's leading the event) 1.5 to 2-hour practices. (You can do the math.) These aren't seminars or classes. They're practices, usually very repetitive, where we work our bodies but more importantly bend our bodies to our wills. It's hard to express how draining the extended practices are. When I first watched Apocalypto (the movie) I immediately thought that how they run through the jungle for days is exactly what Special Training is about - you CAN'T give up.

Last winter's practice was my 16th in the 13 years I've practiced with this organization. It was also the first I've done without getting physically ill (aka "vomiting anytime I try to eat" ). I credit PB for getting me through it. I hope I'm ready again; I feel better going in this time than I have in previous years.

Although food is provided, I'll bring some staples: almond butter and CO. I'm also going with UCAN Super Starch instead of sugary sports drinks. I have electrolyte tablets and salt tablets and am bringing a case of water. If anybody has more suggestions on keeping fueled and not getting sick, I'd love to hear them.

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Just found your journal and read the whole thing! Great stuff! I wish I had some advice for you on not barfing, but I've got nothing.

Siobhan, I've read a lot of your journal. I saw your name and had to know a) how to pronounce it (so I looked it up), and 2) how in the worl' did you get so many pages? You write a lot!

On the hurl front, I found out a few summers ago that part of my problem was trying to choke down Gatorade, Cytomax, or any of those sports drinks. After a day or two they just taste like ... 'scuse me ... urine. So taking electrolyte tablets or salt tablets and drinking just plain water really helps. Although, I find it difficult to drink city-sourced, chlorinated water. I have a well at home, so I drink filtered plain ol' water and am so spoiled. I know that dehydration is the major cause of my illness, so being a fat-burner helps. I just drink water and don't eat 'til I'm hungry. Before PB, I was always trying to re-fuel with carbs as well as hydrate, and there's room for one or the other, not both, for me. Now I know there're enough reserves packed in various spots on my body to get me through at least 5 of those workouts.

Last night we "cooled" down to a mere 85 degrees. It's expected to hit 113 today. I'll bet we push 115 easy. I think I'll use the solar oven to cook up some carnitas!

It's 6:09am here, sun rises soon, so I'm going to go run the dogs before it gets angry-hot outside.

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Marks Daily Apple Forum mobile app

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I made carnitas last Sunday, partly with my solar oven. It feels good using the sun's power to cook good stuff, especially not putting excess heat into the house on a 100+ day. And the carnitas (from PaleOMG's blueberry maple recipe) were so-fine. I'm having some leftovers for breakfast with a couple of poached eggs on top. Ahhhhh...